


Kadic's Resident Lovebirds

by NinesByDawn



Series: Post-Canon Ulumi Fics [2]
Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Dating, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23960800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinesByDawn/pseuds/NinesByDawn
Summary: Loosely connected oneshots and moments in Yumi and Ulrich's budding relationship. Takes place after "Heart to Heart".
Relationships: Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern
Series: Post-Canon Ulumi Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727461
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Me: man we could really use some more Ulumi fluff they were already so angsty in the show
> 
> *looks around archive*
> 
> ...fine. I'll do it myself
> 
> This first one is a little longer and plot heavy than the rest of them will be in order to tie up some loose ends. Comments always welcome!

Slip on a dark crop top and casual sweatpants, grab some toast with jam, have a look through the planner for the day’s assignments and upcoming events, and gaze out the window overlooking the front porch while waiting for Hiroki to tie his shoes. The morning routine had been well established for years now. Yet, today, as she watched the cars zip by and an occasional jogger on their morning run or fellow student heading to the academy, she couldn’t help but feel that each task she’d done up to that point carried a little more meaning. It brought her a little closer to…where she wanted to be. Or rather, who she wanted to be with. The light hit the window at the right angle, casting a faded reflection of herself onto the pane of glass. She brushed some of her hair back, examining her face in the window. Even with all the dances and concerts they’d been to before, she hadn’t been that worried about her appearance. But again, things were different now.

The two siblings began their stroll to the academy. It appeared that Hiroki was still a bit of ways from being fully awake, as he kept quiet for quite a while as they walked. Her mind drifted as well, circling back to the events of the prior week and weekend. It seemed like ages ago that she had felt the sharp pain inside her, the unstoppable wave of regret for her mistakes that washed over her as the words she had wanted to say for so long spilled out in that quiet enclosure in the park. It’d only been a few days, but the emotional roller coaster was now going far up with no drop in sight. The date hadn’t been anything special or unique—just grabbing dinner at a quiet café in the city. Somehow, though, it’d been perfect for both of them. She felt freer than ever before. They’d joked around, had serious discussions about what this meant for them, and had plenty of moments of awkwardness sprinkled in throughout. Even that, though, was welcome for her. It wasn’t like before, where it was because they kept withholding things. Rather, it was the uncertainty that came with new territory. And now, the only question that remained was how to navigate the “official”ness of it all.

“Sis…Sis!” His screeching voice snapped her back to reality.

“Yes?”

“So, when’s your next date with him, hm?” Hiroki asked, a smug look on his face.

Yumi shot him an annoyed sideways glance. “I don’t know. Whenever we have time, I guess.”

“Are you gonna _smooch_? Like, in front of the whole school?”

“Obviously not!” She rolled her eyes as the gates of Kadic appeared in the distance.

“It’s fine. I already saw you two do it anyway.”

Yumi paused, and Hiroki took a few steps forward before realizing she had stopped. He turned around, and she narrowed her eyes. “What did you just say? You _saw_ us?”

“Uh…”

“You _saw us_?! When?” she demanded, coming closer and towering over him.

“D-uh…I wasn’t supposed to say that,” he stammered. “But, uh, I followed you guys on Friday. It was Odd’s idea though!” he added quickly. She let out a long sigh, and started walking again.

“I told you this so soon because I thought I could trust you not to be an immature brat about it.”

“You’re just mad because you don’t wanna admit _I_ was right about you two,” Hiroki said, grinning widely. “I knew you two would be perfect together.”

“You’d better not start any false rumors or stalk us,” she warned. “I can trust you with at least _that_ much, right?”

“Don’t worry, sis,” he said, waving his hand. “Ulrich’s a good guy. I’d never wanna get on _his_ bad side.”

“You certainly wouldn’t,” Yumi muttered to herself as they neared the gate.

“Maybe you should feel sorry for me. I’m the one who has to break the bad news to Johnny,” Hiroki proclaimed.

“Tch. Dork.”

The two of them entered, and she immediately spotted him leaning against a pole. He perked up too, and smiled, coming over to them. He was dressed in his usual outfit; olive bomber jacket, dark shirt, and pants that complemented those colors. He glanced at Hiroki quickly with slight amusement, before turning his attention back to her.

“Alright, well, I’m not sticking around to third wheel,” Hiroki said, a little too loudly. “Have fun, guys.”

“Stay out of trouble,” Ulrich chuckled.

“Beat it,” Yumi said. Hiroki stuck his tongue out at her, then ran off to find his friends. She turned back to him, a smile spreading across her lips as she drew near him. Evidently Lyoko must have stunted his growth, as the boy was growing like crazy ever since they’d ended their adventures. He was now her height, making it even easier for her to look him in the eyes.

“How was your weekend?” she asked.

“Oh, uneventful,” he said, stretching his arms. She let out a light chuckle. “How about yours?”

“Same here. Pretty…boring,” she said. Ulrich smiled, and leaned in, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned her head and stared at him, caught off guard, and his face flushed a light shade of red.

“S-sorry. If it makes you uncomfortable I won’t do that…”

“Uh…it’s fine,” she said. “It was nice.” She smiled at him for reassurance, and he relaxed almost immediately

“You’re okay with…you know, being like this?” he questioned.

“No. You’re not allowed to touch me at all in public,” she drawled, back to her usual self. It took him a moment before he detected the sarcasm, and he awkwardly laughed for a bit once he did.

“Right. Still, uh, getting used to all this,” he said.

“It’s okay. So am I.” She took his hand, beaming at him. Ulrich grinned, and started to lead them further inwards.

“So. You wanna go find the others?”

“We probably should tell our motley little crew, shouldn’t we?” Yumi mused as they kept walking. They hadn’t seen anyone they recognized yet, but the flow of students was starting to pick up.

“Well, Odd already knows,” Ulrich muttered. “He followed us last week.”

“Funny you should say that. I just found out Hiroki was with him. Those two weasels really do get a long a little too well for my liking.”

“You’re not worried about…Sissi? And William?” Ulrich said a little nervously, looking around. “I mean, I know we talked about it, but…”

“Well…” She looked up in thought as they continued walking, hand in hand. “I mean we might get some iciness. Or outbursts, who knows. But…who cares.” She shrugged a little. “Let’s focus on us. We haven’t been doing enough of that.”

“Heh. You’re right,” he agreed. He gripped her hand a little tighter, and closed the distance between them ever so slightly. She felt her heart flutter again. His presence radiated…something. She didn’t know how to describe it, but she felt so content being near him.

The two of them rounded the corner and reached the vending machines to find their friends. As they approached, Odd glanced at them with contempt, Jeremie looked up from his laptop, shut it, and folded his arms, and Aelita let out a “humph” and folded her arms as well.

“Hi guys,” Yumi greeted, before seeing the coldness on all of their faces. “Wha-what’s wrong?”

“Yeah,” Ulrich added. “Are you guys okay?”

“Wow, you two really love holding hands, don’t ya?” Odd drawled, glancing down at their hands.

“Look at them, so into each other,” Aelita added, glaring a little. Ulrich and Yumi glanced at each other, both confused and a little concerned.

“Guys, what’s the matter?” Yumi repeated. “We, uh, came to, you know, show _and_ tell you something…”

Odd looked over at Jeremie and Aelita. “On three, like we said,” he said, holding his fingers up. “One, two, three!”

“IT’S ABOUT TIME!” they all shouted in unison. Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other again, both blushing.

“You could at least pretend you’re happy to be like that,” Odd remarked, looking at them smugly. “Has anyone told you how awkward you guys look? Get _closer_!”

“Shut up, Odd,” Ulrich snapped.

“I’m just glad you two figured it out,” Jeremie said simply, though he was smiling.

“Don’t listen to Odd,” Aelita said. “You two do look quite good together.” The pinkette flashed a bright smile at them.

“Thanks, Aelita,” Yumi said.

“Yeah, great, so that’s that,” Ulrich said, exhaling. “Just don’t make too many jokes. Especially you, Odd.”

“You thought you had it bad before when you two kept pretending you didn’t like each other, wait until you hear all the shit I can give you now about how you used to be!” he exclaimed, shaking his fist. “I’m never gonna let you forget that cringey period in your lives whenever I see you two together!”

“Odd’s right,” Jeremie chuckled. “All your fights over petty little things on Lyoko? I heard most of those, if you haven’t forgotten.”

“Alright, we get it,” Yumi said, sighing. “Yes, it took a while. Now if you’ll let us pretend like that stuff didn’t happen so we can focus on what we are now, that’d be great.”

“They’re right, you know,” Aelita said, giggling a little. “You two do deserve some grief. But it’s okay. We’ll be nice from now on.” The other two nodded in agreement.

“Anyways, we need to get going,” Jeremie said, checking his watch. “Class starts soon.” He got up from the bench and started packing his things, and the others followed suit.

“Yeah, I do need to get going,” Ulrich said to her. He let go of her hand and walked over to join the others, but glanced back at her momentarily.

“I’ll see you later,” she said, giving him a small wave. He nodded and turned his head back to walk with the group. She watched them walk away from her, overhearing Odd say something about Sissi and watching Ulrich’s animated expression as he barked at his good friend about whatever it was he said. She allowed herself a small smile at the scene. It was still strange to not be worrying about gossip or those little nagging thoughts she had had for the longest time about what he thought about her. But she supposed she’d just been worrying about the wrong issues all along. Yumi grabbed a coffee from the vending machine and headed off to her class, still buoyed by her new cheerier mood.

Class went by uneventfully for the morning. As the bell rang and Yumi packed her things to head to lunch, she was stopped by a slightly forceful tugging on her arm.

“What?” she said, turning around and raising an eyebrow.

“Can we talk?” William asked, leaning in closer to her.

“Don’t grab me like that,” she said, pulling her arm back sharply.

“Fine. Sorry. I just wanted to ask.” He held his hands up in innocence.

“Well, we can take it outside.” She strode towards the door, and he awkwardly followed behind her. Yumi led them to under one of the many arches on the grounds, then turned around and stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall and looking at him expectantly. William shuffled his feet a bit and cleared his throat.

“So, uh, rumor has it,” he started. “That you and Ulrich are uh…together?”

“Is that so?” she said amusedly, smirking at him.

“Well, yeah. So is it true?”

“Yes, it is.” The smirk disappeared instantly as she shifted back to a more serious mood. “I guess you can’t really call it a rumor anymore. Was that the only thing you wanted to know about?”

“Uh…” He looked at her awkwardly. “Well, I mean…”

“Look, William. You’re a nice friend and all. But I think I’ve already made it pretty clear where my feelings about you lie.” She folded her arms, still leaning against the wall. “It was nice to get serenaded at first because I never had anyone do that for me. But honestly, I was never that into you, and you’ve pushed it several times.”

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I mean, I just want to let you know that…you were different from all the other girls I’ve done that to in the past. For what you meant to me, I mean.”

“That’s nice and all, but like I said, the feeling’s not mutual,” she said. He let out a defeated sigh, which surprised her a bit. She’d definitely expected more resistance out of him. “Look, I want to let you down gently. But I think given this mess we’ve all been in for so long, I think it’s best to first make it clear what the boundaries are,” she continued. “I’m in a relationship now. So it would be _nice_ if you could stop your advances and all that.”

“Understood,” he said, sighing again. “It’s just…it’ll be tough. For a while.”

Yumi put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a small smile. “I don’t usually like using this phrase, but, there are plenty of other fish in the sea, William,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find someone who fits you. I don’t think I’m that person for you, and I don’t think you’re that person for me. I’ll see you around.” And with that, she left, starting her walk to the cafeteria and leaving his dejected presence behind.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, the rest of the crew was sitting at their usual table. Being in the same year had its perks like aligned schedules, even if that was soon to change with them approaching the older years of high school.

“Odd!” Jeremie exclaimed as a bunch of peas whizzed past his face.

“Sorry! Bad aim!” Odd closed one of his eyes, sticking his tongue out to the side as he leaned behind where Jeremie was sitting to get a better shot.

“Odd, knock that off,” Ulrich said in between chews. “You’re wasting food.”

“No can do, good buddy! Nicholas really has it in for himself today!” he exclaimed, scowling as he flicked the spoon towards the opposite end of the cafeteria.

“We don’t wanna know, do we?” Aelita asked.

“Nope,” Ulrich answered simply.

“Anyways,” Aelita said, turning to him as Odd continued his war with the other students, “How _was_ your weekend? I heard you had a lot of fun.”

“That depends on your perspective, Princess,” Ulrich replied. “I’m guessing you heard it from the Della Robbia Gazette?”

“Come on,” she chuckled. “You don’t have to be shy about it. We know you’ve been really happy these past few days.”

“Aelita’s right,” Jeremie added, looking up from his laptop screen. “You did seem to laugh a lot more at Odd’s jokes when we went to the park yesterday.”

“Alright, I get it,” he said, putting his hands in the air.

“She’s good for you, you know,” Aelita said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Hm. Sure,” Ulrich said, feeling a little embarrassed. It was still strange to openly acknowledge it, and to hear the approval from the friends he’d known for so long. He didn’t quite know what to say to all of them. “So, uh, Jeremie, what have you been working on?” he said, changing the subject. “You’re still typing away like always. Something important?”

“Robotics is a good outlet for my energy,” he replied. “There’s just so many possibilities with what you can get a hunk of metal to do. Something I didn’t really have time to go further into these past couple of years.”

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Aelita added. “Which reminds me, did you fix that bug in the motion sensor? The inter-school competition’s coming up in a couple weeks.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out,” Jeremie said, typing a little faster. “Just so many lines of code that could be messing it up…”

“Okay, Einsteins,” Ulrich chuckled. “You two can discuss this by yourselves and not bore us to death. That’s what you’d prefer, right?” The two of them glanced at each other and both blushed a little, and Ulrich smirked.

“What are we talking about?” Odd asked, sitting back down. Ulrich momentarily forgot that he had been busy antagonizing Nicholas and others, and breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that none of them had gotten caught in the crossfire.

“The Einsteins’ hobbies now that we don’t have to worry about more serious stuff,” Ulrich said, jerking a thumb towards them.

“Hey, look who’s coming,” Odd pointed out. Ulrich glanced across the cafeteria and saw Sissi headed their way, and let out a grunt.

“Great.”

“I warned you about this, good buddy,” Odd said gleefully. “Have fun explaining everything.”

“Actually, I already know what I’m gonna say.”

“You do?” Aelita asked.

“Yeah. For once I actually thought ahead about something important,” Ulrich said, just as Sissi arrived at their table.

“Ulrich!” she screeched. “Can we talk about something?”

“I already know what this is about. The only question is, will you accept it?”

“But—but…” Sissi looked around at the others. Jeremie looked up and stared blankly at her, Aelita shrugged, and Odd giggled a little. “Quit it, Odd! This isn’t funny!”

“Sissi, I’m sorry if you’re, uh, hurt, or whatever,” Ulrich said. “But yeah, it’s true. I’m dating Yumi. I’m off-limits.”

“But, Ulrich…” She inhaled sharply as her eyes began to squeeze shut. “You…me… _we’re_ supposed to…”

“Look, Sissi,” he said with a firm tone. “Just…don’t try to mess with us anymore. I know you can be a nice person when you want to. Don’t try to change my mind. I can’t help you with…whatever, so I guess just try and do what you can to get over it.”

“It’s not fair!” she wailed. A few students looked over in their direction at the noise. “Ulrich, we were supposed to be together!”

“Oh my God,” he muttered, facepalming.

“Maybe…you two should take this outside,” Jeremie suggested.

“Right, because this is all my fault she’s like this, right?” Ulrich said, gesturing to Sissi, who was in the middle of a breakdown.

“Alright, I’ll take one for the team,” Odd grumbled. “Come on, Sissi, let’s go,” he said, getting up and standing next to her.

“Go where?” she asked.

“Outside. So you won’t make a scene and so you can get some fresh air. Come on,” he said, motioning to the door. She reluctantly followed him, and the rest of them breathed a sigh of relief.

The cafeteria was within sight for Yumi as she passed by the science building on her way. She glanced to the side and spotted Odd talking with…Sissi? Raising an eyebrow, she slowed her pace, not wanting to interrupt them and possibly cause an awkward interaction. She was about to turn to try and get around them when it appeared that they had finished up their conversation. Sissi went in another direction, off towards campus, while Odd spotted her and waved. The two friends met in the middle and both started back towards the cafeteria.

“What was that about?”

“She’s upset. Understandably so.”

“About us?” Yumi asked.

“Precisely,” Odd replied.

“Awkward. Did she see me?”

“She might have. She probably hates you.”

“What else is new?” Yumi uttered. “So why were you talking to her?”

“She kind of lost it in the middle of the lunchroom,” Odd said. “It was a scene. So I decided to…well, make it not a scene!”

“That’s very kind of you,” she chuckled. “Why’d you do that?”

“The Lyoko Warriors’ resident Casanova understands what it’s like to have your heart broken,” he proclaimed. “You think that simp Herb and idiot Nicholas are gonna know what to say to her? I just told her that I’ve had that experience many times, and although each one hurts, eventually she’ll believe she’s better than Ulrich and can find someone better for her.”

Yumi laughed at that. “And she didn’t yell at you or call you dumb?”

“I guess she was more preoccupied with her devastation about Ulrich being off the market.”

“You said better than Ulrich? Did you mean that?”

“Of course not!” Odd burst out laughing, and Yumi joined in upon seeing his reaction. “You would know. He’s quite a fine young man. Sissi, on the other hand, might actually fit best with Nicholas if we’re talking brain size!”

“You’re so mean,” she chided as they neared the cafeteria. “But I can’t exactly call you out for it.”

“It was only the part about Ulrich!” Odd insisted. “Everything else I said was genuine. I only added that last part to try and make her feel even better.”

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.”

“Anyways, I was wondering. Is Ulrich a good kisser?” Odd said with a smirk.

Yumi narrowed her eyes. “I already know you followed us, you little runt.”

“Well I don’t know what it was like! So, was he good?”

“Fuck off. You gave some picture to the Kadic News again, didn’t you?”

“Actually, I didn’t. I only gave one picture to Ulrich, and he has it. You can ask him if you wanna see it.”

“Really?”

“Ask Ulrich if you don’t believe me!” Odd said, raising his hands in innocence. Yumi opened her mouth to say something, but then decided to drop the issue. “But was he?” he asked again with a wink.

“Eh. You’ll never know,” Yumi said with a shrug.

“Fair enough,” Odd conceded. “At least you’re _finally_ together! That’s really good progress you’ve made.”

“Tell me about it.”

“After you, Mrs. Stern,” Odd said, grinning as he held open the cafeteria door for her. Yumi rolled her eyes and walked through to get her lunch.

The two of them finally got some time alone again after class. Ulrich had gotten her text beforehand, and left the rest of them as soon as the bell rang, ignoring their calls to him and briskly making his way to the park. Not that he had anything against them, or class. It was just that all that had made him wait far too long for what he was looking forward to. He spotted her sitting on the bench already as he approached, and she glanced sideways, smiling a little. He felt the fluttering sensation again as he sat down next to her. Being in such close proximity to her had a new meaning for him now—it felt like he was getting close to her for the first time all over again. He put an arm around her, and she let out an “mmm” in content, resting her head against his collar in return.

“Hi,” she said, looking up at him.

“Hi,” he replied. “Did you miss me?”

“Normally I’d say no, but truthfully, those few minutes at lunch weren’t quite enough for me…” She snuggled a little closer. “I did miss you quite a bit, you big dumb.”

“Why’d you pick the ‘just good friends’ bench?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

“This is the ‘just good friends’ bench,” Ulrich said teasingly. “The one where you told me we’d just be good friends, remember?”

“You would remember something like that,” Yumi snorted.

“Well yeah. It was a dumb decision.”

“It was needed. And maybe it wouldn’t have been needed if you had stopped being so dumb and jealous all the time,” she replied with her usual snark.

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, then glanced down at her. “We’re gonna be like this to each other all the time, aren’t we?”

“Probably.” She sat up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before readjusting back to her comfortable position in his arms. He let out an amused snort. “Anyways, I meant to ask you about Sissi. She wasn’t exactly well put together when I saw her today.”

“I promise you I didn’t say anything mean,” he grumbled. Yumi glanced at him. “Well, by my standards of how I treat her.”

“That’s better,” she chuckled.

“She asked about it, and I just said don’t mess with me or us anymore. I tried to make it clear,” Ulrich said. “Thing is, I have no idea if I pushed it or if she’s just sensitive.”

“I trust you said the right thing,” Yumi said. “I guess we’ll just have to see how long it takes her to get over it. Speaking of which, guess who asked me about us today?”

“Did I hate his guts for the past year or so?”

“You did, and I bet even Kiwi could tell how jealous you were,” Yumi said.

“I hope I can get over it,” Ulrich said, sighing. “You were right. I can’t believe I acted that stupid for that long. And now there’s not even any reason for me to.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up,” Yumi said, rubbing his back a little with her free hand. “I’m happy you can recognize it. That’s an important step. And I think you’ll get better. You _are_ getting better.”

Ulrich felt a little floaty again, and faintly blushed for a second. “Thanks, Yumi,” he said, softly smiling at her.

“Anyways,” she continued, “He asked pretty much what you would’ve expected him to. I made it super clear that the interest was never mutual. He seemed pretty down about it.”

“Well, yeah. He was pretty into you. Still is, I’m guessing.”

“I always thought it wasn’t that serious, given that he posted love letters all over his last school,” Yumi drawled. “But I guess he did have feelings. I just told him he’ll find someone else eventually. And I made it clear it won’t be me.” Ulrich grunted in acknowledgment, and the two of them sat in silence for a few moments, their shared warmth comforting both of them. Yumi let out another relaxed sigh and put both her arms around his body. He smiled and hugged her a little tighter.

“I missed you too,” he said finally. “It sounds kinda stupid to me, since we see each other every day.”

“No, I know what you mean,” she replied. “We don’t get to be like… _this_ all the time.”

“I like _this_ ,” he whispered, leaning his face into her and brushing against her hair.

“We can’t stay like this much longer,” she said, checking her watch. “But I promise we’ll get more time soon.”

“I intend to make you keep that promise,” Ulrich said, grinning.

“One step at a time, Romeo.”

“Sorry that I’m looking forward to our next date.”

“That’s not what I…whatever. Dork,” she said, reaching up and pinching his cheek a little. Ulrich clutched his face in mock pain, eliciting an eye roll from the Japanese girl.

“I’ll let you go,” Ulrich said, standing up. “I’m guessing you’ve got work to do. And Hiroki’s probably waiting.”

“That’s true. But…” She stood up and drew close to him. “I can spare another minute.”

“For me? I’m honored.”

“Tch. Come here, you,” she said softly, and wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and closed his eyes, feeling the tenderness of her lips against his a second later. They broke free after a moment, before he smiled and initiated another kiss, tilting his head to the side and gently pressing against her lips.

“Happy?” she asked after they parted again.

“Very.”

“Good. I do have to get going now,” she said, letting go of him and turning to grab her bag. Ulrich reached out and grabbed ahold of her free hand, and she looked back at him in surprise.

"Yumi?”

"Yes?”

He looked her in the eyes. “I, uh…I love you,” he said, forcing an awkward smile. She chuckled a little.

“I love you too, Ulrich.”


	2. Lunch

“What’d you get for #16?” Aelita asked as the four of them strolled across campus.

“28 times square root of 2 over x cubed,” Jeremie replied immediately.

Odd’s eyes widened, and he let out a nervous laugh. “You mean it wasn’t 5x?”

“Odd…” Jeremie began.

“I forgot to factor something out, I knew it,” Ulrich grumbled, facepalming. They continued on their way, Kadic quieter than usual with exhausted students ambling out of classrooms at the end of exam week.

“That’s what I got,” Aelita said. “That one was tricky. Ulrich, I’m sure you’ll get partial credit if you did most of the other steps right. I don’t know about you though, Odd.”

“At least it’s all over now,” Ulrich said. “We have the rest of the week to chill.”

“Maybe for you guys,” Jeremie said. “But I’ve still got another exam.”

“Really? What class?” Odd asked.

“Nuclear physics.”

“They teach that here?” Ulrich asked, confused.

“He’s self-studying,” Aelita said with a chuckle. “With the permission of Delmas, of course.”

“You do that,” Odd said. “But like Ulrich said, now’s the time to kick back for the rest of us. Spaghetti and meatballs, yes please!” As they reached the cafeteria, Ulrich stopped walking with them, shuffled his feet a little and cleared his throat.

“I’ve…got something to do,” he said, as they turned to look at him. “Go on without me.” The three of them looked at each other, then back at him, and nodded in understanding. Ulrich flashed a relieved smile, then gave them a wave and started making his way towards the gates.

“Catching up with a certain someone?” Odd asked with a smirk as they watched him leave.

“Lay off, Odd,” Aelita scolded. “We all know where he’s going. No need to dwell on it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Besides, my stomach is always priority #1!”

_Wait…1916 or 1918?_ Yumi thought, stopping herself from pressing the pen against the paper. She looked up at the clock, eyes widening at how little time she had left, and dipped her head back down at the paper in front of her. She racked her brain for the answer a little more, before momentarily giving up and flipping through the other pages to make sure she hadn’t left anything blank. Correcting a few mistakes, she returned to the troublesome question, but not before sneaking a glance at the clock again. A minute and a half left. She decided on her answer, scribbled it down, then took one last skim over everything. The ball rang, and she got up in a haze, still transitioning from her focused mentality to figuring out what was next in her day.

Exiting outside, Yumi strolled towards the grounds, beginning to come to her senses again. She was finally done for the time being, the last exam handed in after a week of hell. Exhaling, she neared the gates, intending to walk past them on her way to the cafeteria before she spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye. A smile broke out on her face and she slowed her pace to let him catch up.

“Hiya,” she greeted once he arrived next to her.

“Hey,” Ulrich said, slightly out of breath. He was carrying a large paper sack by his side. “How was it?”

“Not too bad,” she replied. “I think I forgot some little details for a few questions. I was probably just tired from taking everything back to back. What about you?”

“I knew I got some of the problems wrong,” he grumbled, as they continued walking. “It never feels good talking with the two Einsteins after an exam.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Yumi reassured him. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the sack.

“Oh, uh…I brought lunch,” Ulrich said, a little sheepishly. “I thought we could maybe…go hang out for a bit. And relax.”

“That’d be nice,” Yumi said, smiling a little. “And that’s nice of you. What’d you get?”

“Ramen,” Ulrich answered.

“Ramen? From where?”

“Uh…I had it delivered from a place downtown,” Ulrich admitted. “It was the only sort of authentic place I could find. Anyways, you wanna go find a place to sit?” Yumi nodded, and the two of them changed their path, heading away from the buildings. They found a small table near the track, shaded by some trees. Ulrich opened the bag and a slight fragrance wafted out, triggering both of their appetites. They each pulled a bowl out and Yumi eagerly lifted the lid off of hers, finding chicken, greens, and egg all in a rich broth.

“Thanks for bringing me this,” she said, grinning. “This is exactly what I need after a week like this.”

“No problem.” He looked back into the bag, before realizing that the disposable chopsticks were his only option for utensils. Pulling them out, he stared for a moment before breaking them apart and awkwardly gripping them together in his fingers. Yumi got busy digging in, while Ulrich fiddled around with the chopsticks for a little longer. After another big helping of noodles, Yumi looked up to find her boyfriend with a pained look on his face as a piece of chicken slipped from his chopsticks and back into the bowl, making a splash in the broth.

“You don’t know how to use those, do you?” she chuckled.

“I forgot to ask for a fork,” Ulrich muttered. Yumi held hers up and motioned to them with her other hand.

“Here. Watch and learn, young grasshopper,” she instructed. “First one, hold it between your index and middle.” Ulrich tried to mimic her as best as possible. “Now, move it up and down with your fingers.”

“Okay.” He wiggled the chopstick in his fingers, getting comfortable with the motion after a few tries.

“Now, this part’s a little trickier. Keep holding onto the first one. Rest the second one in the crook of your hand between your thumb and index,” Yumi continued, sliding the chopstick into her hand. “Let it rest on your ring finger too for stability. You should be able to move the first one still. The second one stays still.”

“Whoa.” He awkwardly held the grip for a moment before attempting to pick something up, and the top chopstick slipped out of his fingers. He grimaced, then tried to reset his grip. “I can’t…pick anything up without dropping it. How do you do this?”

“It takes practice,” Yumi said, still amused at his struggling. “Noodles aren’t the easiest thing to start with, either. You can always keep them together and use them like a little shovel, if you really can’t manage.” She put hers together and raised her bowl to her lips, scooping the food quickly into her mouth to demonstrate.

“Feels like I could just use a spoon if I wanted to do that.”

“Once you learn how to use these, you’ll never wanna go back to spoon and fork. Trust me,” Yumi said. She continued eating as Ulrich concentrated on getting comfortable with his utensils. He successfully picked up a small piece of chicken after a few more tries, gobbling it down to momentarily satiate his hunger. He had more success with the veggies and chicken over the next few minutes, while still finding the egg and noodles slipping out too frequently. After scooping up some noodles, he heard a slurping noise from across the table and looked up.

“How’s yours?” he asked.

“It was great,” she answered, setting the empty bowl down. “Although I don’t know how I’m gonna pay attention in class later. I just wanna lay back. I feel so warm and full!”

“Yeah. At least you don’t have gym later,” he said. “Probably should’ve thought through what to get for lunch beforehand.”

“We can go be lazy for a bit and digest once you finish up,” Yumi said with a smile. She reached out and plucked the last piece of chicken from Ulrich’s bowl, popping it into her mouth.

“Hey!”

“You’re too slow,” she teased. “Come on, or I’ll steal the eggs too.” Ulrich glared at her and held the bowl close to his lips, drinking the soup quickly. He found it easier to scoop up the rest of the food once the soup was gone, and finished, setting the bowl down with an assertive _thump_.

“There,” he said proudly. “How much time do we have?”

“Eh, a little less than 15 minutes,” Yumi said, glancing at her phone.

“That’s enough,” he said with a smile. They cleaned up the table and found a large tree nearby. Ulrich sat down at the base, leaning against the trunk and bringing his knees up. Yumi sat down next to him, snaking an arm around him and bringing him closer to her. In return, he put an arm around her as well, and found himself leaning into her. The two of them snuggled for a few moments, enjoying the calmness of midday.

“You’re really sweet, you know,” she said softly, rubbing his hair a little. “Other people just don’t get to see that side as much.”

“Hmm. I guess.”

“Try to be nicer. Use _this_ a little more instead of acting first,” Yumi said with a smile, pressing her fingers against his forehead and rubbing it.

“I know, I know,” he said, sighing. “But…you come first to me. Obviously. Which is why it’s easier.”

“Easier to think first with me? I don’t know if the evidence is on your side for that,” she said, giving him a little nudge.

“Fair enough. You always know exactly what shit to give me, don’t you?” he said, rolling his eyes a little.

“It’s what I do best.” She kissed him briefly on the cheek.

“Come here.” He straightened up, and put his other arm around her, his hands clasping each other around her waist and bringing her in. She shuddered a bit at the feeling of his hands brushing against her stomach, but laid her head on his chest nonetheless and relaxed.

“Let’s stay like this,” she murmured.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Yumes,” he chuckled, shaking her a bit and causing her to let out a little whine. “We gotta get going soon.”

“A few minutes feels longer than usual when it’s with you,” she commented.

“Wow, now look who’s throwing out the cheesy lines.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, dork,” she drawled. “I’m serious!” she added, eyeing his smirk.

“I know.” He kept the smug look, and she rolled her eyes at it, letting out a “humph” and turning to look straight ahead again. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, calming down and taking in each other’s warmth. Finally, they both knew their time was up for the time being. Ulrich stretched his legs and got up, then took Yumi’s hand and helped her up. They walked back to the grounds, holding hands and mostly staying silent. Once they arrived, he squeezed her hand a little and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Amidst the commotion of students hurrying to class, she smiled and brought him in for a quick kiss on the lips before they parted, both of them still feeling warm in more ways than one. 


End file.
